34 S. £. Peckham—Pitch Lake of Trinidad. 
many islets covered with long grass and’shrubs. It is not easy 
to state precisely the extent of this great collection of pitch ; 
the line between it and the neighboring soil is not always well 
defined. The main body may perhaps be estimated at three 
miles in circumference ; the depth cannot be ascertained, and 
no subjacent rock or soil can be discovered. The negro houses 
in the vicinage, built by driving posts into the earth, frequently 
are twisted or sunk on one side. In many places it seems to 
have actually overflowed like lava, and presents the wrinkled 
appearance which a sluggish substance would exhibit in motion. 
In some parts it is black, with a splintery or conchoidal frac- 
ture; in other parts so much softer, as to allow one to cut out 
a piece in any form with a spade or hatchet, and in the interior 
it is vesicular or oily; this is the character of by far the greater 
portion of the whole mass: in one place it bubbles up in a 
perfectly fluid state, so that you may take it up in a cup.” 
“In the southeastern part of the island there is a similar 
collection of this bitumen, though of less extent, and many 
small detached spots of it are to be met with in the woods; it 
is even said that an evident line of communication may thus 
be traced between the two great receptacles.” 
Dr. Nugent devotes considerable space to a discussion of the 
geology and origin of the bitumen. As his opinions are based 
on theories no longer accepted by geologists I will only remark 
en passant, that he associates the mud volcanoes of Cedros 
Point with the agencies that have been active in bringing the 
bitumen to the surface. 
The next notice that appeared, was written in September, 
1832 by Capt. J. E. Alexander, 42° Royal Highlanders.* He 
says, “at the small hamlet of La Braye, a considerable extent 
of coast is covered with the pitch, which runs a long way out 
to sea, and forms a bank under the water. The Pitch Lake is 
- situated on the side of a hill, a gradual ascent leads to it, which 
is covered with pitch in a hardened state, and trees and vegeta- 
tion flourish upon it. The pitch at the sides of the lake is per- 
fectly hard and cold, but as one walks off towards the middle 
with shoes off, in order to wade through the water, the heat 
gradually increases, the pitch becomes softer and softer, until 
at last it is seen boiling up in a liquid state, and the soles of 
the foot become offensively warm. During the rainy season, 
it is possible to walk over the whole lake, nearly, but in the 
hot season a greater part is not to be approached. The Lake 
is about a mile and one-half in circumference; and not the 
least extraordinary circumstance is, that it should contain eight 
or ten small islands, on which trees are growing close to the 
* Journal of the Franklin Institute, 1833, xv, 337. New Edinburgh Philos. 
Magazine. 
